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Topic: New Cadian Relics (Read 787 times)

Well, if nobody else is going to revive this forum, I guess it'll have to be me.

So... Discussion!

What do you guys think of the new Cadian relics? Any ideas on how to exploit them? The fact that they can be given to any army makes it pretty interesting, especially since it can lead to some armies that otherwise lack certain 'types' of relics or wargear having those options now available.

A few thoughts right off the bat? Well, Inquisitors now have a way to get an invuln, and a good one at that - Lacking any kind of invuln outside of Terminator armor kind of sucked, but now we can get a reliable 4++, that also helps block out Skyhammers or Raptor Talons. Interestingly, if you take three Imperial Knights, then you can buy that 4++ for the Knight instead, making its Ion Shield redundant.

Access to a 3++ for units who can't take Storm Shields is also gonna be interesting. Taking a Cataphractii Captain with the '+1 Invunl' relic is going to be pretty interesting, because it leaves both of his hands open, is slightly cheaper than a Storm Shield, and is just all around a neat trick. (3++, re-rolling 1s. Nice.) Or, you can get a Canonness with a 3++, or a Priest, both of which are criminal wastes of a good relic and perfectly useful points that could have been spent somewhere else. Of course, it has one weakness compared to a Storm Shield - No using Sanctuary to buff it to a 2++. (This can also be given to a Knight, giving him a 6++ bubble and a 3++ Ion Shield, which could be neat, if probably not quite as good as the 4++ on all facings.)

The various cheap weapons are all good, but none of them really 'Pop'. The no-saves-allowed Bolt Pistol isn't bad, but it's still only S4. The poisoned large blast grenade is funny and worth the points, but you need a spare HQ to bring it on.

The relic that grants Skyfire, Monster Hunter, or Tank Hunter to a squad could be potentially abuseable if attached to a Centstar, but so can a lot of things. Still, a Centstar with skyfire is scary. (You could already do this with Command Tanks, but those are hard to buy (Both in an army and IRL) and cost 400 points.)

The Autopurger is hilariously good at clearing hordes, especially if you take it on an Inquisitor with Rad Grenades - Bye bye, T2 Guardsmen.

Lastly, Eternal Warrior on anyone who can take Relics, for only 35pts! I can bring an EW Thunder Wolf Lord again! (And, coincidence: It costs exactly the same as Saga of the Bear used to! Neato!)

Hi Waaaghpower, it's been an age! Great to see you back.I have the Fall of Cadia book and the Relics are pretty good, but I'm just not wowed about them 100%.They don't seem game-breaking on their own, but the Momento (the one that hands out Skyfire, Tank-hunter and the like) seems the most useful.The only thing that it's held back by is that you need to use one of the Special Characters to use them.I LOVE Celestine, but she seems a bit OP? (Not that Sisters will mind, but she seems a bit plug-and-play for most Deathstars) and Cawl is kind of... lackluster if you have no other Mechanicus in your army.How are you planning on using the Characters or are you using Castallen or one of the other formations?

Imperial Agents does the trick for Cawl. For 50 points, you can take an Enginseer and a Servitor - That's two Canticles for super cheap. Plus, you can attach those Enginseers to other squads, then pop Shrouded on them.

Honestly, Cawl is kind of a godsend for me, because I love taking Tank Batteries, but they're normally just way too fragile to be potent. Now, though, you can drop a 4++ on all your tanks, Shrouded on all your screening units, and then next turn you've got 5 units that can repair and 3 IWND rolls to fix any damage. (Add in the Ironstone for extra repair goodness.)

Celestine certainly seems OP in that she's pretty much impossible to kill, but honestly she's just a shield. Her damage output is pretty lackluster against most targets outside of Tactical Marines. She's no Chapter Master Smashfather. (I see her mostly being ablative wounds for Deathstars, or as a sort of anti-tarpit.)

As for the relics overall, I really think the balance is right where I like 'em. None are hideously OP, and none feel particularly weak either - Only the 6+ invuln one really feels explicitly bad.